Back to Wildwood once again, and this is probably... well, no, I think I can do the math, this is DEFINITELY the first country & western bar I've featured on my channel so far. Located at the Boardwalk Mall along the Wildwood Boardwalk between Adventure Pier and Mariner's Pier, this self-styled honky-tonk has completely taken over the basement of the building. Longtime arcade aficionados may realize that this was previously the home to the "Mall Arcade", which was honestly just a collection of mostly broken down old games that the owners didn't really care for or maintain. The entire collection was sold off in pieces last October. It was a sad end to the place; even prior to that, it was home to the Remember When Retro Arcade & Fascination Parlor, owned and operated by Randy Senna. That was a much larger collection of retro games, but unfortunately he was forced out by mall management, and while he's reopened further up the boardwalk closer to Surfside Pier, the new location is much smaller and only a fraction of what used to be available. Still the best place on the boardwalk to go to play pinball, Fascination, or retro games, but I digress.
So back at the beginning of 2024 they announced that the former Mall Arcade space was going to be converted into "Wildwood's first honky tonk saloon", and... well, they delivered on that promise. It's a large space with two bars, a stage, and plenty of dance floor room. So why am I covering it here? Because, believe it or not, they actually kept a little bit of the space's history intact by making the back corner into a small mini-arcade. It's all modern games at this point, and they utilize game cards unlike the old coin-operated machines that used to be here. There's a few claw machines throughout, and otherwise you've got some shooters like Jurassic Park and Big Buck Hunter, a few racers like Super Bikes 3 and the new Fast & Furious (here in its smaller footprint, non-motion version), a couple sports games like NBA Hoops, Air FX, Super Chexx, and Axe Master, and even the new Pac-Man-branded Skee-Ball knockoff "Pac-Man Roller". While all ages are welcome during the daytime, after 7:30 PM this transitions into an adults-only nightclub, so anyone under the age of 21 is required to leave or no longer allowed to enter. They also have a full-service kitchen, so, uh, if you're looking for a place to fill up on $22 chicken tenders or a $20 salad, they've got you covered, I guess.
I don't have a lot of words to say about all of this, but I can't help but feel disappointed over what happened down here. Ultimately time will tell how successful of a venture this makeover is, but I just feel like between the loss of the original Remember When and even the inferior Mall Arcade, and places like Mariner's Arcade switching to nothing but redemption games, the boardwalk is losing some of its charm.
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